Ты свободен?
The English phrase "are you single?" is translated into Russian as Ты свободен?
The phrase Ты свободен? can be used both to ask if someone is romantically single and to ask if someone is available to talk or hang out. The word свободный can be used to mean "available" or "free" when asking about relationship status.
What does it mean word for word?
The word свободен literally means "free" in the sense of being unattached or available.
Which one should you use?
While свободен can mean "free" in terms of time (for example, asking if someone is free right now), in a romantic context, it specifically implies being single.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are asking a woman, you must use the feminine form свободна instead of the masculine свободен. The phrase Ты холостой/холостая? is an informal way to ask if someone is single, where the adjective холостой is used for males. To be polite or to address a stranger, use the formal form Вы свободны? instead of the informal Ты свободен?
Did you know?
- The word холостой for 'single' shares a root with the word for 'unheated' or 'cold'. Historically, this referred to a household where there was no 'fire' of a family hearth.
- The word ты is a cognate with the English word 'thee' from Early Modern English.
- The word свобода for 'freedom' is used in the phrase Ты свободен?, but Russian has another word for freedom, воля, which refers more to the internal will or liberty.
Example conversation
Anastasia is talking to Dmitry at a party.
- Анастасия AnastasiaДмитрий, ты свободен?Dmitriy, ty svoboden?Dmitry, are you single?
- Дмитрий DmitryДа, я свободен. А ты?Da, ya svoboden. A ty?Yes, I am single. And you?
- Анастасия AnastasiaЯ тоже свободна.Ya tozhe svobodna.I am single too.
- Дмитрий DmitryТогда давай потанцуем.Togda davay potantsuyem.Then let's dance.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ты, CC BY-SA 4.0.
